Ben McAdoo caused Giants fans to skip a heartbeat and run to their cardiologists Tuesday when he suggested that Smith, the newly signed ex-Jet train wreck, is in line to be the heir to the Manning throne when Eli calls it quits or the Giants ask him to leave.

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Geno Smith taking over for Manning?

Stop, please.

"I can't see why not," McAdoo said.

Geno Freakin' Smith.

"We're a long way to go from there," McAdoo said. "To me, Geno, you look at it, you study the guys coming out, you study Geno, I think he's right in the mix as one of the better players available this year," McAdoo said.

Oh, boy.

Manning is 36 years old with no indication he's getting better with age like Tom Brady. It was surprising enough when the Giants signed Smith to battle Josh Johnson to be Manning's backup this season but McAdoo took it a big step further. He's all-in believing Smith could position himself to have a big future with the Giants.

GM Jerry Reese has made it clear he's on the lookout for the Giants' next franchise quarterback. McAdoo conceded Smith's presence won't impact their decision to take a quarterback in next month's draft if the guy they want is available to them.

Eli Manning is 36 years old with no indication he's getting better with age like Tom Brady. (Al Bello/Getty Images)

If Smith's four-year career has played out exactly the same way, but it was in Houston or Cleveland or Carolina, basically any place but New York, then McAdoo making Smith out to be a hidden gem might have registered. But his warts were exposed with the Jets for all of Giants Nation to see and it's not a pretty picture.

He's immature. He got punched out by a teammate over $600. He missed a team meeting in San Diego when he didn't know the difference between East Coast and West Coast time. He is not a player teammates follow. He had limited success on the field and is coming off a torn ACL, which will limit him early in the offseason program.

"Geno has a compact throwing motion," McAdoo said. "You look at his profile. He has a quick release, gets it out his hand, a ton of arm strength, he's mobile. So it will be interesting."

He was 12-18 as a starter for the Jets with 28 TDs and 36 INTs in 33 games. McAdoo stresses taking care of "The Duke," which is not something Smith does very well. He also fumbled 17 times and lost seven.

Didn't McAdoo watch tapes of Smith? He was knucklehead on and off the field. Why would he bring him into the program? McAdoo loves working with quarterbacks and is excited about trying to get Smith's career going. It's a job that would have been too big for Bill Walsh.

"I find it very exciting," McAdoo said. "A guy that has his skill set is hard to find. You can't find guys out there that have that type of arm talent, the quick release, the throwing motion and the feet that go with it. And he's a competitor. It's exciting to be able to bring a guy in and work with a guy like that and see where you take him. This could be a great fit for both of us. He felt the same way."

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What about Smith issues off the field?

"I told Geno he has a clean slate," McAdoo said.

Having former Jets teammate Brandon Marshall making the switch to the Giants with him should help. They are good friends and Marshall lived with Smith when he first was traded to the Jets in 2015.

"We're going to coach the heck out of him," Ben McAdoo said about Geno Smith. (Al Bello/Getty Images)

"We have a great locker room," McAdoo said. "I have a lot of confidence in our locker room when we bring guys in. We're very confident they will acclimate well."

Smith needs to rehab his knee. The Giants have to help him wipe the bad stuff from the Jets out of his mind. That won't be easy. "We're going to coach the heck out of him, just like we do everybody else in that room," McAdoo said. "I'm sure he's looking forward to it."

The Giants had their own off-the-field behavior issues with Odell Beckham Jr. and his boat crew taking off for Miami seven days before the playoff game last year. McAdoo will stress to his players at the first team meeting to keep their focus on the prize.

"There is only one goal in this game," he said. "It's to put the trophy in the case, the ring on the finger, the banner on the wall, the picture on the team meeting room wall. That's it. We want to win it. That's why we are in it. There is nothing else."

"If you chase two rabbits, both will escape," he said. "When players are in the building, they say yes to football. When they are not in the building, we need to do a better job of saying no to some other things, making sure everything we are doing is aligned with our goal. Now I'm not saying we can't be human beings. That's a part of things, I guess. We need to be focused on our football. When we leave the building we need to say no to some things."

Is he talking about the boat trip? That's the most logical interpretation.

"You can interpret what I say any way you want," McAdoo said. "It doesn't matter to me one bit."

It was easy to interpret what he said about Smith. Giants Nation will be having plenty of sleepless nights praying Manning can keep it going.